1<\/p>\n
Seething Slot stretches his complaints<\/p>\n
Arne Slot was seething as he lamented the decision to allow Manchester United\u2019s second goal to stand despite claims of handball by Benjamin Sesko. \u201cThe curve on the ball changed so there must have been a contact,\u201d argued the Liverpool head coach. \u201cBut it\u2019s no surprise to anyone that if there is a VAR intervention then the decision goes against us. It\u2019s happened to us all season.\u201d As PGMO confirmed at the time, however, there \u201cwas no conclusive evidence that Sesko handled the ball before scoring\u201d. Slot was stretching it to pin Liverpool\u2019s latest defeat on poor refereeing. United\u2019s movement pulled the visitors apart in the first half and, without the injured Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitik\u00e9 and Alexander Isak, the threat from Liverpool was nonexistent until capitalising on two errors early in the second half. Defeat stemmed from an anaemic first-half performance, nothing else. Andy Hunter<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
Lewis-Skelly gets Arteta clued up<\/p>\n
What took you so long, Mikel Arteta? \u201cBecause probably I don\u2019t have a clue,\u201d the Arsenal<\/a> manager joked. The home game against Fulham on Saturday was the first time he had started Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield. Given the stakes, it was a big risk. Never mind the 19-year-old played in midfield for Arsenal\u2019s academy teams; this felt like a sink or swim moment. Lewis-Skelly, who broke through in such dazzling style as a left-back last season but has dropped off this time out, rose to the challenge, delivering a fine all-round performance defined by the security of his passing and the energy that he brought. He helped to set a blistering tempo and maintain it. There has been no little muttering about how Arsenal might look to sell him in the summer, the words \u201cpure\u201d and \u201cprofit\u201d bandied about. On this evidence, they cannot do so. David Hytner<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Howe\u2019s future in balance despite smiles<\/p>\n The final whistle was the cue for Yasir al-Rumayyan \u2013 Newcastle\u2019s chair and the governor of the club\u2019s majority owners, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund \u2013 to seize the ball and enjoy a kick about with his fellow director Jamie Reuben. Newcastle\u2019s minority owner was heard calling Rumayyan \u201cboss\u201d before they headed inside for a special dressing room photograph to commemorate an edgy 3-1 home win over Brighton that ended a five-game losing streak for Eddie Howe\u2019s team. The picture captures Rumayyan commanding centre stage alongside, perhaps inevitably, Howe\u2019s beaming assistant, Jason Tindall. Almost everyone is smiling, with one notable exception towards the back. The Germany striker Nick Woltemade, Newcastle\u2019s \u00a369m record buy, stares blankly into space after spending yet another match on the sidelines. Woltemade was among the five expensive signings made by Howe last summer that warmed a bench valued, collectively, at \u00a3335m. A relief-tinged bonhomie may have reigned on Saturday evening but, once the season ends, Rummayan must decide whether he trusts Howe to preside over this summer\u2019s necessary rebuild. Louise Taylor<\/p>\n Nick Woltemade at St James\u2019 Park before the visit of Brighton, during which he was an unused substitute. Photograph: Craig Cowan\/Every Second Media\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Emery gamble plays into De Zerbi\u2019s hands<\/p>\n Aston Villa made seven changes from the side that lost 1-0 at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Thursday night and lost 2-1 against relegation-threatened Tottenham on Sunday night. Unai Emery\u2019s team had not completed an arduous journey post-match, it\u2019s about an hour\u2019s drive back from Nottingham, but only Emi Mart\u00ednez, Matty Cash, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers remained in the starting lineup. This was clearly a gamble based on keeping his big guns fresh for the second leg. It backfired, Villa were outfought and managed one effort on target all game; Emiliano Buend\u00eda\u2019s late consolation. Emery\u2019s record in managing successful Europa League campaigns gives him leeway to take such risks, but picking a midfield of Tielemans, Lamare Bogarde and Ross Barkley to go up against a workmanlike, but creatively limited, trio of Conor Gallagher, Rodrigo Bentancur and Jo\u00e3o Palhinha played into Spurs\u2019 hands. This was a game won with industry, not craft, and credit must go to Roberto De Zerbi for instilling that endeavour in his team, but the Spurs manager was certainly handed the initiative by his opposite number. Tom Bassam<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Dasilva returns after 822 days out<\/p>\n The Brentford<\/a> fans would not stop. \u201cWe want Josh,\u201d they cried as the second half of their side\u2019s win over West Ham wore on. \u201cI didn\u2019t have any idea they were nagging me,\u201d Keith Andrews said, but the Brentford manager still made sure not to disappoint the crowd. There were 89 minutes on the clock when Andrews turned to his bench and brought Dasilva on for his first appearance since January 2024. \u201cA very special moment for him,\u201d Andrews said of the 27-year-old midfielder, who had been out for over two years with a knee injury. \u201cI got quite emotional looking at him coming into the pitch.\u201d Andrews added: \u201cHe\u2019s a very special human being. He\u2019s a very intelligent young man and his ability isn\u2019t in doubt. I was looking at him from afar in years gone by. We just need to keep Josh fit and I think the rest will be absolutely fine.\u201d Jacob Steinberg<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Smart business pays off for Leeds<\/p>\n